Secret Admirer
by fwingsnitch
Summary: Misty receives a some cards and gifts from her "secret admirer"…who isn't Ash. But could these cards and gifts mean more than they seem? AAML! Read and REVIEW! Be sure to tell me what you think!
1. Chapter 1

Misty receives a some cards and gifts from her "secret admirer"…who isn't Ash. But could these cards and gifts mean more than they seem? AAML! REVIEW! Be sure to tell me what you think!  
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Hey guys! I got the idea for this story about a week ago, but it's slowly changed to something that I figured I might as well write a story about. Thanks to AshXMisty, too! Her story "Built This Way" gave me the final nudge to write this story. When I first came up with the idea, it was pretty crappy, but now I think it might actually work!

The summary tells all. Be prepared for dead people, and an ending you'll never see coming…at least, I hope I'm that good of a writer.

Anyway, on to the story. Ash is 17, and Misty is 18. And just in case you guys didn't notice, this isn't a humor fic, unlike most of my stories. This one is dead serious.  
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Chapter 1

It was not a normal day for a murder.

The sky was a bright, shining blue, the warm sun floating in it, casting a warmth, but not too hot of one, over the lands. It was spring, and all the flowers has just sprouted, the leaves green leave shad just grown back on the trees, and the grass was a perfect color, as if it had just been cared for by a professional lawn service.

Nobody ever would have expected that that day, Ash Ketchum would get a call from Officer Jenny, telling him to return to his home town of Pallet. And yet, he did. She hadn't told him why. She had just told him to come. Her voice had been grave but not too emotional. As a police officer, Jenny saw many depressing things, and she had learned to keep her emotions intact.

As Ash walked in looked out over his town, his trusty pikachu on his shoulder, with the same expression on its face as Ash, he knew why. But he didn't want too.

But before we talk about that, we're going to go back. Back to only a little less than a week ago, when Ash was still traveling with Dawn and Brock in Sinnoh…  
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Misty was visiting. Actually, she was traveling with them. Brock had ran into her in the woods while looking for firewood. Normally, Ash would have been ecstatic. But today, she was being a particularly big pain in the ass. She seemed to be in the mood for a lot of nagging, because she wouldn't shut up.

The sky was stormy, with bolts of thunder all over the place, a lot like Ash's mood. Ash was wet. It was cold. He wished he was back home in Pallet, in a warm, comfy bed, inside a nice house with a roof.

But he wasn't. Instead he was stuck out here, in the rain, having no idea where they were, and being blamed for it by Misty.

"I can't believe you had the map upside-down the entire time!!!" She was yelling at him.

"How was I supposed to tell!?!" Ash yelled back. "It's not like there's any writing on it or anything!"

"It's your fault we're lost out here in this storm! We could die out here!"

"You didn't have to travel with us, you know! We were doing fine until you came along!"

"Hold on a minute! Are you telling me that this is _my _fault? Who was holding the map!?!"

"Misty, did your sisters ever tell you how big of a pain in the ass you are?"

"Did your mother ever tell you how annoying _you _are!?!"

"Guys, guys!" Brock said, attempting to break up this fight before it got ugly.

"WHAT!?!" Ash and Misty both snapped at him. Though he was taller than both of them, and definitely older, Brock backed away in fear.

"Listen," he said, "fighting won't solve any of this!"

"Brock is right!" Dawn said. "We need to find somewhere to stay!"

"Fine!" Misty said. "Ash, since you're so smart, why don't _you _find a place for us to go!"

"How about you-"

"About about _I _take that?" Brock said, snatching up the map. He turned looked it over.

"Looks like there's a town pretty close by! Come on!"

Thirty minutes later, Ash was in a bedroom in a hotel, changing his wet clothes.

"Sleeping in a puddle all night, wet, burnt pancakes for breakfast…walking for hours through a storm…stupid Misty nagging at me the whole time…man, I can't believe my life is like this! Nobody knows what it's like to be me! This is horrible! No-one understands…"

Ash sat down on his bed and took out his Iphone, going onto twitter.

"Man, my life sucks," he typed. "Nobody understands just how horrible it is to be me."

He continued making posts like this pretty much the entire week. He wasn't sure why. It just felt sort of good to let people know how miserable he was, even if he didn't know them.  
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Four days later, Ash was staying at Misty's house. He had gotten the call a day after they had gotten to the town. Dawn was staying in Sinnoh, and Brock had gotten a call from his family yesterday to go home. Now it was just Ash and Misty.

Misty was letting Ash stay at her place. She seemed to have forgotten about what had happened before-or at least she was acting like it. Ash was only staying there for the night, and Misty was letting him use the guest bedroom.

It was sunny the next morning, and although it was spring, a small hint of dew has still managed to creep its way onto the grass overnight. Ash was eating a bowl of cereal when Misty came walking down the stairs, still in her nightgown.

"'Morning," she said.

"'Morning," Ash replied. The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Misty said, walking over to the door. She opened it and a man UPS man was standing there.

"Package for a Misty Waterflower," the man said.

"That's me," said Misty, taking the package and signing for it. She closed the door and walked over, setting the package down on the table.

"Who's it from?" Ash asked curiously.

"I don't know," Misty said. "There's no return address."

"Well, there's a note attached to it," Ash said, pointing at a pink, folded piece of paper taped to the top of the package. Misty picked it up and opened it.

_"Dear Misty,"_ she read aloud, _"I don't mean to be a bother, but my feelings for you run deep and I'm too shy to tell you in person. Please accept this gift as a symbol of how beautiful I think you are. _

_-Your secret admirer_

Misty smiled, blushing, and looked suspiciously at Ash.

"Hey, don't look at me!" he said. He felt a strange sort of jealousy building inside him, though he wasn't quite sure why. "I may be from Pallet Town, but I am _not _that cheesy!"

Misty didn't speak. Still smiling, she slowly opened up the package.

"Oh!" Misty said, looking at the contents of the box.

"What?" Ash asked eagerly. "What's in it?"

"Flowers!" Misty said, taking out a bouquet of roses. "They're the most beautiful roses I've ever seen!" Sure enough, the roses looked as if they had just been picked from the garden of Eden. They were incredibly fresh and bright and vibrant, and very beautiful. Somehow, this made Ash's jealousy grow, though he wasn't sure why. There was just some sort of anger twisting at his heart that he couldn't understand.

"I think I'll put these in that vase over on the counter!" Misty said. "We haven't used that in a while." She walked over, filled a tall, glass vase with water, and placed the roses in it. Ash stood at the table, frowning over the note.

"Hmph!" He said. "If you ask me, you don't really love someone if you won't even tell them!"

"Oh, be quiet, Ash!" Misty said. "You're just jealous!"

"Jealous?" Ash said, though he could feel himself go red in the face. "Why the hell would I be jealous of this guy?"

Misty didn't answer. Instead she gave a sort of girlish giggle, which was very rare in a tomboy like Misty. She seemed more vibrant for some reason, more alive, and she was smiling at the roses while Ash crumpled up the note and threw it in the trash.

"Well, I'd better get going," Ash said. He was already dressed and packed. Pikachu suddenly hopped up on his shoulder out of nowhere.

"Pika!"

"Yup, it's time we got going, buddy."

"Okay," Misty said, "goodbye, Ash! Visit soon!"

"I will!" Ash said.

"Tell me what Officer Jenny wanted!" Misty called after Ash as he walked out the door.  
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Ash could not believe what he was seeing.

His house was surrounded by yellow boundaries, there were police cars around it, and Officer Jenny was standing on the porch.

"Oh no…" Ash said, slowly walking towards his house, eyes wide with disbelief. Then he broke into a run. "No, no, no, no, no!" He ran up onto the porch.

"What's going on Officer Jenny?" Ash asked desperately. "Did my mom do something illegal or something?"

"No," Officer Jenny said grimly. "I'll leave it to you to decide whether what happened is worse."

"What happened?" Ash said. He already knew the answer, but he didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't.

"Ash," Jenny said slowly, and although she tried to hide her emotions, Ash could swear he saw some sadness in her eyes as she answered his question, "your mother is dead."  
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End of chapter! I hope you guys like it! Review and tell me what you think! Seriously! REVIEW! I MEAN IT!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, I've been having a lot of homework lately. It's actually hard to believe that I've been in school for more than a month! I still feel like it's only been a week!

I've heard a few theories for who the killer is and what he's up to! But are any of them right? Well, let's see…  
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Chapter 2

Ash just stared. Not at Jenny. Not at the ground. Not at anything. He just stood there and stared. He wasn't even thinking. He couldn't. This was unbelievable. It took Ash a few minutes to finally choke some words out of his mouth.

"Dead?" He said. It was just one word, but one word that meant so much.

Officer Jenny nodded. Though she tried to hide her emotion, Ash could see tears filling up in her eyes.

"But…but…I don't get it…" Ash was in complete shock. He was speaking slowly and quietly. The emotions that were running through him were too great to express. "I mean…this is some that…it just…it always happens to someone else."

"I know what you mean," Officer Jenny said. "That's the problem. We're all someone else."

Ash didn't speak. Nobody did. Ash wasn't aware of anything going on around him. He was in his own little world. A world where thousands of emotions were flooding in so quick, he thought he was going to explode.

"How?" He said. It was the only word he could get out.

"Acid," Jenny said.

"Acid?" Ash said, slowly slipping back into the real world.

Jenny nodded.

"How? Was it, like, dumped on her or something?"

"Injected into her bloodstream," Officer Jenny answered.

"Do you have any idea who did it?" Ash said.

"We haven't got a clue. Our only lead is this. It was stuck to her forehead." Jenny handed Ash a small object, only about two inches large. Normally it wouldn't have scared Ash a bit. But under the current circumstances, it was incredibly creepy, and it sent a shiver of fear crawling up Ash's spine.

It was a sticker. A sticker of a smiley face.

Ash didn't speak, and Jenny went on. "I heard a reporter saying they were gonna call him the "Happy Killer". Me? I suggested a different name.

"Whoever did this had to be pretty smart, though. It'd be incredibly complicated to get an acid of the right strength to kill your mother. Too strong, and it would break through the walls of the veins and never get anywhere. It would probably cause some major pain where it was injected, but not death. Too weak, and it would stay inside the veins, flowing with the blood, probably reaching the brain to cause damage there, but it wouldn't cause death.

"This "Happy Kille" would have to have gotten an Acid of _just _the right strength so that it would be weak enough to stay inside the veins and flow with the bloodstream, but strong enough to stop the heart once it was reached.

"The thing is, we can't figure out why they decided to kill your mother this way. It would have been a whole lot easier to shoot her or stab her. Someone suggested that they didn't want to leave a mess. But even then, it would be easier to inject alcohol and cause an overdose."

Ash didn't speak. Him and Officer Jenny stood there for a few seconds in a rapt silence so quiet it almost hurt. It was Jenny who finally broke the silence, in a soft voice that was sympathetic, but still not comforting enough to cover up Ash's feelings.

"I promise you," she said, "we're going to work on this day and night. And it may be that this is his only kill. It could have been for revenge."

Ash nodded. He still didn't speak. He didn't have too. Officer Jenny could tell what he was thinking without hearing him speak. She gave him a pat on the back.

"I'll talk to you as soon as we find out anything," she said. Ash nodded once more, placed the sticker in his pocket, and walked off, with pikachu no longer sitting on his shoulder, but now walking at beside him. Neither of them talked throughout the whole walk. They both had the same expression on their face. An expression that showed absolutely no emotion. A blank expression that showed either the person wasn't paying attention, or they were filled with too many emotions to cram into a single expression.

As he walked, a single, small tear formed in Ash's right eye. It slowly began rolling down his cheek and dropped to the ground. Not many tears. Ash wasn't bawling and sobbing and crying his heart out. No.

It was just one single glistening tear that held more emotion than Ash had ever felt in his life.  
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"Oh hey, Ash!" Misty said, opening the door. "Isn't it kind of late to be visiting?"

"Misty,-"

"Oh, and come look see those roses they look just beautiful!"

"Misty-"

"Listen, Ash, I know that-"

Misty paused. Ash was being silent. There was no emotion showing on his face. He slowly breathed in a quiet sigh.

"Misty, my mom's dead."

Misty didn't reply. She hung her head and stared at her feet. She could never know what Ash was feeling. She had never lost a loved one in her life.

"I'm sorry," she said. She looked up. Ash nodded. Misty had just opened her mouth to ask a question when Ash answered it for her.

"She was murdered," he said. He didn't give any more detail. He didn't need too. Misty didn't just not want him too, she wanted him not too. She knew that recalling how his mother had died would only bring pain to Ash, even if he hadn't been there.

"If there's…anything I can do to help…anything at all…"

Ash didn't look at Misty. He slowly walked into the kitchen. Misty followed to see him staring at the roses she had received. He didn't seem to actually be focused on the roses, though. His mind was somewhere else. Somewhere Misty didn't know about, and didn't want to know about.

"No," Ash finally said. He was quiet. It was a painful quiet, one that Misty could barely stand.

Ash turned his head to look at Misty. And then he actually smiled. It wasn't a smile of happiness. It wasn't one of joy, or amusement, or even love. Ash didn't need a smile to show love. It was in his eyes every time he looked at Misty. She was the only one who didn't see it.

No. This wasn't a smile of any of that. This was just a smile. It didn't show any change in the feelings Ash felt. It was probably just his way of trying to seem positive. But inside, he was anything but.

"Things just keep getting more interesting every day, don't they?" He said.

Misty smiled back. Her smile wasn't one of happiness or emotion either. Just like Ash's smile, Misty's smile was her way of trying to brighten the moment. It seemed like it may have worked a little bit.

And then the doorbell rang. Ash nodded and Misty walked over to the door. It was delivery man again, with another package and pink note.

"Another little gift from Romeo?" Ash said. Misty looked up at Ash and he could have sworn he saw a hint of sorrow in her eyes as she unfolded the note and read it aloud.

_"Dearest Misty,_

_I hope you liked my roses. They do not justify your beauty. Neither does this, but even so, I hope you find it as lovely as I find you, although I am not sure if that is possible, as it seems that my love for you is deeper than any love could possibly be._

_-Your secret admirer_

Misty opened the box. It was much smaller than the previous one, as was the gift. It was another box. Small and blue. Misty took it out and set it on the table. Silently, she opened it up and clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Oh…" it was a very small sound, and Ash wasn't even sure if she had really made it. She slowly lifted up a beautiful diamond ring.

"Oh my God…" Misty said, staring at the ring.

"Aren't you going to put it on?" Ash asked. Misty looked at him, then at the ring. She repeated this cycle several times, thinking. Wearing a ring that was given to her usually meant commitment, or at least that she considered that person her boyfriend.

"No," she finally said. "I never really liked jewelry." Misty stuck the ring in her pocket and this time crumpled up and threw away the note herself.

"You can stay here for the night," she said, and walked up to her room without another word, leaving Ash standing there, alone.

Ash flopped down on the couch and sighed. He took out the smiley face sticker from his pocket and flipped it over absentmindedly. He sat bolt upright. The back of it wasn't just a plain white. There was writing on it. The writing was in sharpie. It was only five words. But they were incredibly terrifying and well-known words. He had heard them before. But not in real life.

**I WANNA PLAY A GAME**  
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And that's the end of the chapter! We're one step closer to solving this mystery! But there are many more than two steps!

BE SURE TO REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!!!!!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! This is already getting pretty interesting, huh? Well, I've got news for you…

The game has only just begun.  
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Chapter 2

Misty and Ash sat quietly at breakfast, not talking to one another. They seemed to be trying to devise a way to look anywhere except in each other's eyes. Once Ash was finished, he cleared his place and put on his jacket.

"I'm leaving," he said.

"Where?" Misty asked.

"The police station," he replied. "I've got something to show Jenny."

"Well, I'm coming too!" Misty said, jumping out of her seat and rushing along with Ash.

"So, what is it that you found out?" Misty said.

"Take a look at this." Ash handed Misty the sticker. She read the words on the back.

"That's weird," she said.

"I know," Ash replied, taking the sticker back from Misty. "By the way, where are your sisters? I haven't seen them."

"Oh, well, they're out at another one of those stupid beauty contests. The gym is closed for now, because there's no way I'd ever be able to run it by myself."

Ash nodded. "I don't see why they keep getting into those beauty contests. And winning. I mean, in my opinion, you're much better looking than them."

Ash stopped walking. So did Misty. They both looked at each other. Neither of them had expected that. Ash didn't know where the words came from. They were honest, there was no doubt about that, and somehow they had just slipped out. The two stood there silently for a few seconds, and then continued walking like it had never happened.

When they got to the police station, Ash gave Officer Jenny the sticker.

"Any idea what it means?" Ash said.

"Except for a reference to a particularly bad horror movie, I can only come up with one thing."

"What's that?" Misty asked.

"Your mother isn't the only kill this guy will make. Of course, that could not be true. It may be that he just put that there to scare you. Did it work?"

"No way," Ash and Misty said together.

Officer Jenny smiled. "Good. But I need to ask, do you know anyone who would have something against your mother?"

Ash thought about this for a second. "No," he said. "Everybody loved my mom. I don't see why somebody would do this…" As Ash thought about his mother, and all she had done for him, tears began to well up in his eyes. Normally when he was crying, Ash's mother would be there, holding him in her arms. But she wasn't. She was gone. This was the reason he was crying. She was always so kind…so loving…so generous and selfless…

"Who would do this!?!" Ash yelled out suddenly, making Officer Jenny and Misty both jump. He looked down at his feet as tears began dropping to the ground.

"I want you," he said, not looking up at Officer Jenny, "to do whatever you can to find whoever did this. And once you do…I want them dead."

"Ash…" Misty said, staring. Ash had never even thought of hurting somebody before. She couldn't understand why he would think something like that.

"I can't do that, Ash," Jenny said. "It wouldn't be legal to-"

"I don't care how legal it is!" Ash snapped, now looking up at Jenny. An expression of pure rage was on his face. But that rage wasn't aimed at Jenny. It was aimed at whoever killed his mother.

"She was my mother," Ash said. "She never did anything wrong to anybody. And now she's dead. Why? Why would anybody kill such a wonderful person?"

Jenny could not stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks this time. Misty couldn't help it either. She couldn't bear to see Ash like this.

"I don't know," said Jenny. "The best guess we have is a serial killer. The kind of person that thinks of up complicated ways of killing people just to pass time."

"That's sick," Ash said.

"I know," said Jenny. "But most of them have some sort of mental disease."

"Anybody who kills an innocent person deserves to die themselves," Ash said. He wasn't kidding either. He wanted this person dead.

"Ash-" Misty said, but he cut her off.

"Don't, Misty!" He said. "Just don't!" He began breathing harder, and then his breathing slowed. It softened. And when he looked up at Jenny and Misty again, the rage was gone from his face and replaced with a look that nobody could describe. But it wasn't a good look.

"I'm sorry," Ash said. "I shouldn't have yelled like that."

"Don't worry," Jenny said. "It's completely normal to do things like that when a loved one dies. I'm just glad you didn't go…too far."

"Ash…" Misty said, a look of pure, loving sympathy on her face. She walked up to him slowly and hugged him. He hugged back, as if using Misty as a substitute for his mother.

"Nobody deserves to die," Misty said. "You're mother didn't, and neither does the person who killed her. Ask yourself question, Ash…"

Misty pulled out of the hug and looked Ash right in the eye.

"Does anything good ever come of death?"

Ash didn't say anything. Nobody moved. It stayed like this for what seemed like forever. Nobody spoke. Well, Ash, Jenny and Misty didn't. There was actually noise all around them. But they could not hear it. It was as if they had slipped off into a world of their own. Slowly, Ash shook his head.

"Exactly," said Misty. Then, slowly, she, Ash, and Jenny all slipped back into the real world.

"I know I already said this," Jenny said, "but I'll say it again. We're going to do everything we can to find out who this person is and get them locked up."

Ash nodded. "Thank you." Then he walked out of the police station, and Misty followed.

"I think I'll go home," Ash said when they reached Misty's house.

"Okay," Misty said. "And, Ash," she added as he walked away. He turned around.

"Yes?"

Misty smiled. "You're a great guy. I just…want you to know that."

Ash smiled back, then turned and walked away, back to Pallet town.  
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Ash couldn't sleep that night. He couldn't get the image out of his mind of some freak laughing his head off about how he killed Delilah Ketchum.

He actually managed to sleep in short bursts, but would always be woken up from horrible nightmares. Eventually, he just gave up and decided to read a book. Then, while he was reading, his cell phone rang.

Ash looked up from the book and looked at his clock. 3:47 AM. Who the hell would be calling at this hour? Ash flipped open his phone and held it up to his ear.

"Hello?"

The voice that answered was one that Ash recognized, but he knew it wasn't the person he was thinking of. It sounded like the Jigsaw killer from the SAW movies. But he knew it wasn't that.

"You're Ash Ketchum." It was not a question. It was statement. A fact. Whoever was calling knew Ash's name.

"Yes," Ash said, trying to keep calm. "And, you are…?"

"Names are not important," the voice said. "I want you to do something for me Ash."

"What's that?"

"Go outside."

"Okay, sure." Ash got up, and walked outside. It was summer, so he had slept with no shirt, and he was too distracted to even remember to put one on.

"Good," the voice said. Whoever was calling knew that Ash was outside now.

They were watching him.

"Now, let me ask you question Ash…

"Do you like fireworks?"

Ash was taken aback by this question. "What?"

"You heard me. Do you like fireworks?"

"Is this a prank call?"

"I will ask you the question a third time, and I want a straight answer this time, not a question. Do you like fireworks?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"Good. Because I'm feeling festive tonight."

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion from behind Ash. Flaming pieces of wood were flying everywhere. He whipped around and, with horror, saw where the explosion had come from.

Professor Oak's lab was on fire. And not just the lab, also the room where he slept, and the warehouse where Ash's pokémon were being kept. The whole place had been destroyed, and was now nothing but a huge pile of flaming rubble.

Ash stared in horror for a few seconds, not wanting to believe it. Then he looked away and shouted into his phone.

"Who are you!?! What is this!?!"

"It's a game."

The person hung up. Ash dropped the phone and was left standing there, alone, staring up at the huge, burning fire which had, just a minute ago, been the house of one of Ash's best friends.  
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And that's the end of the chapter!

NOTE: I DO NOT THINK SAW IS A BAD MOVIE. I'm not even aloud to see those movies! I'm only 12! Officer Jenny is the one who thinks it's a bad movie, so don't go getting mad at me!

REVIEW


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! We're getting closer to solving this! But what's up with this killer? Why is he doing this? You'll just have to wait and find out!  
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Chapter 4

Ash stood there, staring at the fire. He didn't move. He had no idea how long he was there. Time had been lost.

Suddenly, Ash heard the sound of bike tires on dirt. He turned to see Misty riding over on her bike, still wearing her nightgown.

"Ash!" She got off the bike and threw her arms around Ash. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Misty!" Ash said, pulling out of the hug to see Misty's face. "Why are you here?"

"I could hear the blast all the way in Cerulean City! What was that?"

Ash looked at the house, still burning. Misty looked too and clapped drew in a quick, sharp intake of breath.

"Oh my God…"

Misty looked at Ash, who was staring at the burning flames.

"It was him wasn't it?" She said gravely. Ash nodded.

"Why is he doing this?" He said, not taking his eyes off the burning remains. "My mom…Professor Oak…Tracey…all my Pokémon…they never did anything! Why is he killing them!?!"

"I don't know, Ash," Misty said. "I just don't know."

Ash looked at Misty. "You should probably be getting home."

"No way," Misty said, her expression immediately changing to a stern one. "I'm not letting you out of my sight. You're staying at my place tonight."

"Okay," Ash said, and despite all that was going on, a weak smile managed to make its way onto Ash's face, and Misty's too.  
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By the time Ash and Misty made it to Cerulean City, the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, creating a beautiful sunrise. Neither Ash nor Misty were feeling tired at all. In fact, they felt wide awake.

The first stop they made wasn't Misty's house. It was the police station. They walked in and explained everything to Officer Jenny.

"Well, we can tell one thing," she said.

"What's that?" asked Misty.

"That message wasn't a joke. This guy really is playing some sort of sick game."

"Well, then, what do we do?" Ash said.

"Well," said Jenny, "we trace the call. It should be pretty easy if you just give me your phone."

"Sure." Ash handed Jenny his phone.

"It may take a bit, so you can go out and do something. I'll tell you when we're done."

"Okay," said Ash, and walked outside. Misty followed.

"Ash," Misty said as they walked.

"Yes?" Ash answered.

Misty paused for a couple seconds, and then pulled Ash into a hug. Ash had not been expecting this, and was at first taken by surprise. But then, he wrapped his arms around Misty and held her tight.

"You are the greatest, most caring person I have ever met," Misty said. "The last person who deserves to been going through this is you."

At first Ash didn't respond. After a few seconds, though, he did.

"Thank you. Don't worry," he added, pulling out of the hug. "They're tracing the call right now. We're gonna catch this guy." Though he seemed to be saying it more to himself than to Misty. Misty smiled.

"Ash…" she said. "You are a wonderful person…you know that, right?"

Ash nodded. "And so are you."

Misty nodded. "Don't let any of this change that."

"Don't worry," Ash said. "I won't."

Then, Officer Jenny came running up to them. "We found it, you guys!"

"Who is it?" Ash and Misty both said simultaneously, their hearts racing.

"It was another cell phone. In the Sinnoh region."

"Let me guess," Ash said. "Paul."

"No," said Officer Jenny. "It belongs to a Dawn Hikari."  
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Ash couldn't believe it. It had been a couple days now since he had found out. He sat next to Misty on the couch, thought he felt like he was alone.

Dawn. She had always seemed so kind…so nice…how could she have done this?

Ash hardly even noticed when his phone rang. He slowly picked it up and answered it, a lump in his throat.

"Hello?"

"Ash?" It was Dawn, in her normal voice. "Listen, they're letting me make one call before I go to prison. You have to listen to me! I swear, I didn't do any of this! I don't even know how to make a model airplane, how the hell could I have made a bomb!?!"

"Dawn-"

"Ash, please, you have to listen to me! You have to help me! I didn't do this, I was framed! I was framed, Ash, I swear!"

"Dawn, I'm sorry-"

"No, don't be sorry Ash! Just help me! Please! I haven't even _seen _SAW! Please, Ash! I'm telling the truth, it wasn't me!"

Ash didn't answer for a bit. He sat there, thinking. Could Dawn be telling the truth? It took him all of two seconds to come up with the answer.

Of course she was.

Ash knew Dawn. He trusted her. And he knew that she would never do something like this.

"Okay," he said, and hung up.

"Was that Dawn?" Misty said.

"Yes," said Ash, putting his phone in his pocket and standing up. "I'm going to go see her."

"See her? Ash, she's all the way in Sinnoh!"

"Then I'll take a plane."

"Ash, they traced the call! She's the one who killed your mom and blew up Professor Oak's cabin!"

"No, she's not," Ash said, walking outside, Misty following. "I got the call during the night. It's more than possible that somebody stole Dawn's phone while she was sleeping, so that they could frame her."

"Ash-"

"Misty, Dawn is my friend. I trust her. I know she would never do this."

Misty didn't speak. She still had doubts, but she didn't tell them to Ash. She knew that he wouldn't listen. Misty came with Ash to the airport. Even though she didn't know Dawn, she knew Ash. She loved him.

But while they were in line for their tickets, Ash's phone rang.

"Hello," he said, holding it up to his ear.

"Hello, Ash? This is Jenny."

"Officer Jenny!" Ash said. "Listen, Dawn is innocent. I-"

"We know she's innocent Ash," Jenny said.

"You…do?" Jenny's tone worried Ash. She seemed almost depressed that Dawn was innocent.

"Uh-huh. That's the good news. The bad news is…"

"This means the killer is still out there," Ash said.

"Well…yes. That is part of the bad news."

"Part of it?" Ash said. "What do you mean, 'part of it'? What's the other part?"

"The bad news," Jenny said in a grave voice, "is how we found out that Dawn is innocent. She's been in custody this entire time. We know. We've had at least one of us with her 24/7."

"So how did that help you figure out she's innocent? More importantly, how is that bad?"

"Ash," Jenny said slowly, as if it would make him feel less pain, "your friend Brock is dead."  
____________________________________________________

Dun-dun-DUUUUUUN!!!! Here we go again! This just keeps getting more and more interesting! But that killer's still out there! And we still don't know who the hell he is! Will we ever know?

Just keep reading to find out!


	5. Chapter 5

I've gotten some reviews saying that I'm killing too many people. I figured you'd be prepared right now. I warned you in the very beginning of this story that this was serious, and there were going to be dead people. So if you were expecting some funny, humor fic, that's your own fault for not reading the beginning.  
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Chapter 5

"How?" was the first word that came out of Ash's mouth as he stood in Brock's bedroom with Officer Jenny. Brock's body was still on the floor of the room, a fatal wound on his head, covered with dried blood.

"That's just it," Officer Jenny said. "It makes no sense."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as you can see, the sticker is on his forehead." Sure enough, there was a smiley face sticker on Brock's forehead. "But the fingerprints on the gun that killed him are his own."

Ash frowned. "Suicide?"

"Yes, but it's obvious that the killer was here. But how could he know that Brock would commit suicide?"

"Brock doesn't seem like the person who would commit suicide," Ash said.

"It's usually that way with suicide. The family and friends never expect it, because the person who committed suicide never told anyone about they're problems. They just kept a fake smile on their face, pretending to be pleasant and happy, until one day they just decided to put an end to it."

Ash didn't speak. He couldn't believe this. Both he and Misty had known Brock for years. He would need a lot of grief to kill himself. How could they have not seen it? Why didn't he tell them? If he had, he may still have been alive.

But he wasn't. And that was the way things were. Ash couldn't change what had happened, he knew that. Meanwhile, this death didn't make sense. Had the killer known Brock was in such grief? Had he been stalking him, waiting for Brock to finally be pushed over the edge? Ash didn't know.

"Try looking on the sticker on his forehead. See if it has anything written on the back."

Ash tore the sticker from Brock's forehead and looked at the back.

"Nothing," he said.

Him and Officer Jenny just stood there for a moment. Then Jenny said what Ash had been thinking, but not wanting to believe.

"Do you suppose Brock was the killer?"

Ash shook his head. It wasn't because he didn't think it was possible. He just didn't want to think it was. He didn't want to even think of the possibility that Brock may have been the one who killed all those people.

"I'm going home," Ash said.

"Okay," Jenny said. "We'll keep on looking for any clues we can find."

Ash nodded and left for Pallet town. But first, he stopped at Misty's place.

"Hi, Ash," Misty said when he walked in. The sadness on her face showed that she was in just as much pain as Ash.

"I don't get it, Misty," Ash said. "How could we not know all the problems that Brock was facing?"

"Ash-"

"We could have helped him," Ash said, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "We could have stopped this from happening. It he had just told us."

"Ash-"

"But he didn't!" The tears were flowing down Ash's cheeks now. "Why didn't he tell us!?! We could have helped! He would still be here right now if he hadn't been so God-damn secretive!"

"Ash," Misty said in a soft, quiet voice, sitting down next to Ash on the couch. "Brock was your friend. I know. He was mine too. But this isn't your fault. It isn't either of ours."

Ash sniffed. "I know," Ash said. He did. Deep down, he knew this wasn't his fault. But somehow, it felt better having somebody to blame it on that he knew, even if it was himself.

Misty smiled. "And, Ash…"

Ash looked at Misty. "Yes, Misty?"

"I want you to know, that no matter what this comes too, We're going to get through this together. We will."

Ash and Misty looked into each other's eyes. It was a silent moment, one that was irreplaceable. They slowly leaned their heads forward and started to close their eyes…

And then the doorbell rang, ending the moment quicker than it had started.

"I'll get it," Misty said, the look on her face saying that she was sorry the moment had been broken, as if it were her fault.

It was another package. Misty walked over and set it down on the table.

"Something else from lover boy?" Ash said, sounding more grouchy than his usual self. Misty shot an almost apologetic look at Ash and opened the package. She stared at the contents of it. But it was not a stare of stunned amazement as with the first two gifts. Ash also noticed that this one came with no note.

"Oh my God…"

"What is it?" Ash said, getting up from the couch.

"Flowers," Misty said.

"Well, what's so bad about that?"

Misty held up the flowers and Ash realized the answer to his question. Misty said it out loud anyway.

"They're dead."  
____________________________________________________

When he got home, Ash sat down at the computer. The sun was starting to set now, casting a radiant glow over the horizon. Maybe watching something on YouTube would take his mind off things.

It didn't. For when he turned the computer on and was just about the click the icon for the internet, a window popped up on his screen. It was live footage from a webcam. But the most shocking thing was the face on the webcam. It was just any face. It wasn't even a human face. It wasn't alive.

The face on Ash's screen was something he recognized. Something that had given him nightmares after the first time he had seen the movie it was in. Something that made him sure that Brock was not the killer, because this was. He also now knew that the message on the back of the first sticker _had _been related to SAW.

Billy the puppet was on Ash's computer screen.

Ash just stared at the screen.

"Hello, Ash," Billy said, his wide eyes staring, unblinking at Ash. It was in the same voice as the infamous Jigsaw Killer. The same voice from the call Ash got a couple nights ago.

Ash continued to stare. "What?...How…?"

"You do not seriously think I am the real Jigsaw Killer, do you?" Billy said. "SAW is a movie franchise Ash. It is fiction. I could never match the genius of John Kramer.

"But I can try my best."

"Who are you?" Ash said.

"That is not really important. You see, somebody else has been thrown into the mix. Somebody we both know. Somebody we both happen to be attracted too. I, however, unlike you, actually told her my true feelings, even though it was not in person."

"You…" Ash said slowly, "you're Misty's secret admirer."

What he said next was something that he had already known, but for some reason needed to say out loud.

"You're the Happy Killer."

"I do not like that name," Billy said. "It is stereotypical. The word killer in this case is a synonym for sociopath. And just because I killed an innocent person does not mean I am a sociopath."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Ash said sarcastically, "you can go ahead and kill tons of people who you have no connection with and are completely innocent for no reason and you'd be just fine! That's not psychopathic at all!"

"I do not believe you are in a good position to be making smartass comments, Ash," Billy said. "You see, Misty is dead."  
____________________________________________________

Alright! Now, I know I'm going to get a lot of complaints about this chapter. But trust me, in the end, we'll all be satisfied, and you (hopefully) will have no more complaints. You just gotta trust me on this. After all, I'm the one writing the story. I know what's going to happen.


	6. Chapter 6

Wow! I'm shocked! I mean, like, seriously! I'm all like =O! That's how shocked I am! I've only gotten one complaint about Misty's death! You assholes. You don't even care that she died, do you? =(

Haha! Just kidding! I'm glad that you guys trust me! This _will _work out just fine! But this chapter isn't the end! There's still gonna be one or two chapters after this!  
____________________________________________________

Chapter 6

Ash stared at the screen. Billy continued. "Yes, it is sad but true. But do not hold this against me. I am not a killer. I am a teacher. A prophet. Once this is all over, you'll thank me, Ash."

"Thank you!?!" Ash said. "Why would I thank you!?!"

"Because, Ash. I'm helping you.

"None of this would have happened if you had just refrained from doing one thing. If you had not decided to announce to the world that you did not appreciate your life, none of this would have even begun.

"I've been reading your Twitter posts, Ash. You seemed to think that your life could not possibly be more miserable. I'm showing you just how wrong you were.

"You obviously are not aware of the fact that there are children in Africa who are much more happy and joyful than you, even though you have things that they could never have. You see, you are not thankful, Ash. You are ungrateful. You do not know what you have. I'm making you appreciate your possessions…by taking them all away.

"It's like that old saying: 'You don't know what you've got till it's gone'. Now that everything has been taken away, you realize how much it gave you."

Then, Ash remembered something. "The flowers," he said.

"…Were a warning," said Billy. "A warning that the game was nearing its end…which it is."

"I have to ask something, though," Ash said, "what's up with Brock?"

"Ah, yes. I did not actually kill him."

"You didn't?"

"Know. As I'm sure Officer Jenny told you by now, the fingerprints on the gun were his own. He killed himself."

"But…" Ash said, "the sticker…"

"I stood outside Brock's house, waiting for the gunshot. Once I heard it, I went in and put the sticker there on his head. You see, I called him. I convinced him to kill himself.

"He obviously did not appreciate his life. I just tell him about all the bad things in his life and...well, boom goes the dynamite."

"You're horrible," Ash said. "Why are you doing this? Is there even a point?"

"Don't you get it, Ash? I'm helping you."

"No, you're not! You're making my life worse than it ever was! There's no way things can get worse than this!"

Billy paused for a few seconds. Then he spoke again, in the same creepy tone.

"You obviously still do not get the point of this whole game. You see, that's the problem with life: there's never a time when things cannot get any worse.

"I think you will find that you appreciate your life much more once it's unbearably miserable."

"You're insane!" Ash said. "Jigsaw was a murderer! He killed people!"

"Those who died in Jigsaw's game died of their own hand. They could always escape. They just chose to die instead."

"That's not true!" Ash said. "Take Paul, he tried to get out of that maze! He wanted to live, but he couldn't! He couldn't reach the exit in time!"

"He could have if he tried hard enough. Most people are actually capable of much more than they think. In fact, if I remember correctly, the average human runs 10 mph faster if they are being chased by a hungry Arcanine. You see, Paul could have escaped that maze if he used all his energy-he just didn't."

"You're nuts!" Ash yelled. "Jigsaw was a killer!"

"Maybe that's what you think," Billy said quietly. He still seemed very calm. It was actually sort of annoying. "But it is not what I think.

"There are many questions in life that have no right or wrong answer. They all depend on the way you think of things. Me? I think of Jigsaw as a saint. A saint that I want to make real."

"You've seen SAW too many times," Ash said.

"I think you've forgotten something, Ash."

"What?"

"The game is still going. The final phase has arrived."

"What are you going to do, make me pull a key out of my heart or something?"

"Actually, it was the eye. And no. You're life is not on the line."

"It isn't."

"No. There are only three people left, Ash, that you know as well as the others."

"Who are they?"

The screen went fuzzy for a moment and then showed a bathroom, which looked almost exactly like the one in SAW. There were three people in it, all in different devices. Ash recognized the three people. He couldn't believe it had come to this. He hadn't even thought of them.

Jessie, James, and meowth.

Ash stared at the screen and saw that they were starting to wake up. The expressions of fear showed clear on their faces once they looked around and saw where they were.

"Huh?" Jessie said. "Where are we?"

"Aaah!" Meowth yelled. "What is this!?!"

"What's going on?" James said, his eyes wide with fear. "Are we being punished?"

"If this is some sort of joke, whoever did this is going to pay!" Jessie yelled.

The screen switched back to Billy.

"You see, Ash, each of the people you see before you are hooked up to a different device which will slowly, but surely, cause them to die a very painful death.

"All three of these people can be saved Ash. But for each one that you free, you will have to make a sacrifice of your own.

"Of course, you could hypothetically make it out of this without any harm befalling you. So can they. But, it is impossible for both you and one of the people in the bathroom to make it out unscratched."

Ash couldn't believe it had come to this. This was all his fault! If only he hadn't been so stupid, nobody would have ever been hurt.

"How do I save them?" Ash said.

"As you can see," said Billy, "I have put an axe on your desk."

Ash looked at his desk and, sure enough, there was an axe that he had not even noticed. He picked it up and examined it.

"As you can see, it is not that heavy or big. But it is still very strong. It is made from the same metal that is on the shell of an Aron. This axe could cut through practically anything."

The screen went fuzzy and then showed the bathroom again. Except this time, it was just Jessie. She was tied to a chair which was suspended over a large pool of water full of sharpedo. Jessie was looking down at them, wide-eyed.

"As you can see," said Billy, "Jessie's device is rather simple. It will slowly lower her into a pool of sharpedo. To save her, all you must do is cut off your ear with that axe.

The screen then switched to meowth, who was sweating and breathing hard. He seemed to be chained inside a large glass box full of all sorts of blades placed everywhere.

"The device meowth is trapped in is not so simple-looking. It will slowly cut off different parts of his body…ending with his head. Saving him will require chopping off your hand."

The screen switched to James, who's neck was bounded to a long conveyor belt. At the end of it was something that was not usually used for killing.

"James is stuck on a conveyor belt that will slowly slide him into a giant wood-chipper. And, I must warn you, all the safety devices have been removed. Why, you could throw a human body into this thing and it would not even notice…which is what I am about to do. To save him, you must chop off your foot."

The screen switched back to Billy. "So, you see, to save each one of them you will have to cut off a different part of your body."

"And if I want to save all of them?" Ash said.

"All of thee above.

"Game on."

The screen switched back to the bathroom, now showing everybody.

"Okay, seriously," Jessie said, "you'll be hearing from my lawyer for this!"

"Wait, guy's look," meowth said. "There's a camera! You guys, there's a camera!"

Jessie and James all looked up at the camera.

"Hey!" Jessie said. "What is this, one of those prank TV shows? Cause if it is, I'll-"

Suddenly, James yelled. The wood chipper at the end of his conveyor belt was now running, and it was beginning to slowly move toward it.

Jessie screamed. Her chair was starting to lower into the tank.

Then meowth yelled as the machine began slicing off his ear.

"What's going on!?!" Jessie yelled. "What the fuck is this!?!"

"Please, don't do this!!!" James yelled. "It's not my fault! I never wanted to do any of it!!! It was Jessie, she made me do it!!!"

"No, that's a lie!" Jessie yelled. "You could have left any time you wanted, but you didn't!"

"I had to do it!!!" James yelled. "I didn't have anywhere else to go, it was the only way for me to make a living!!!"

"No, that's not true!!! He's lying! He's fucking lying!!!"

"No, I'm not, please don't do this!!!"

"I wasn't in on any of this!!!" Meowth yelled as the machine now began slicing off his hand. "I'm just a pokémon!!! I had to do what they said!!! I'm innocent I tell ya!!!"

"You're lying!!!" Jessie yelled. "You could have left whenever you wanted too! We never even caught you!!!"

Ash stared at the screen, listening to their pleading. They're screams of terror made him realize something.

Their lives were in his hands.

Finally he couldn't bear it. He yelled and quickly sliced off his ear.

He screamed even louder as Jessie's chair stopped lowering just as a sharpedo jumped up and bit off her foot.

"What the fuck was that!?!" Meowth yelled. "How come she gets to go!?! Why, huh!?!"

"Please!!!" James yelled. "Let us go!!! I promise I'll change!!! I'll quit Team Rocket! I'll never do anything bad again if you just let me go, please!!!"

Ash gritted his teeth and placed his hand on the desk. He yelled again, even louder this time, and brought the axe down upon his wrist with all the force he could muster.

Meowth's machine stopped halfway through his leg. The box now had over an inch of blood in it.

"What!?!" James yelled. "Come on!!! Why!?! Why them and not me!?!" He was drawing even nearer to the spinning blades of the wood-chipper now, struggling to free himself from the device.

Ash looked down at his foot. He slowly lifted it up onto the desk. He continued to stare at James, who was still pleading for his life.

"Please, don't!!! I'm not a bad person!!! No, please don't!!!" James let out one final plead before the wood-chipper began slicing up his legs.

"I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!!!"

Ash let out one final yell and brought the axe crashing down onto his foot. He screamed louder than he ever had before. The pain was unbearable. He screamed even louder as the wood-chipper stopped and the screen switched back to Billy.

"Congratulations," he said. "An ambulance has been called for both you and Team Rocket. You will all survive. You will also be happy to know that Misty is not actually dead."

Ash fell to the ground, blood pouring from his arm and leg. The last sound he heard was that of the webcam window closing, and then he passed out.  
____________________________________________________

There! Now all your complaints are gone, right? Well, this isn't the ending! There's a whole other chapter after this one! I hope you guys like it! Just remember to REVIEW!


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, last chapter! I hope you guys like it! Here we go!  
____________________________________________________

Chapter 7

Ash slowly began to regain consciousness. It took him a few minutes to finally remember what had happened, and another few to actually get his eyes open. He felt horrible. He had never been so exhausted.

When he finally got his eyes open, he saw that he was in a hospital. There was a heart rate monitor next to the bed he was lying on, and all sorts of medical devices he didn't recognize. It took him another few minutes to realize that his arm and leg both had bandages on them.

Then he noticed something was on his stomach. When he realized what it was, he felt a bit better.

It was Misty's head. She had fallen asleep beside his bed. How long had he been here? Ash looked at the clock on the wall. It was 7:22. Misty began waking up. She kneeled up and looked at Ash. She was immediately awake when she saw that Ash was.

"Ash!" She yelled. "Oh my God!" Then, without warning, she did something completely unexpected.

She put her hands on his cheeks and gave him the biggest smooch he could have hoped for. As the shock slowly left him, he began to kiss back. Then, after who knows how long, they disembraced.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, as if neither of them could believe what Misty had just done. Then, despite all the pain he was feeling, Ash smiled.

"'Morning, Misty."

Misty smiled. "'Morning, Ash."

There was a loud cough and both of them looked up to see a doctor standing in the doorway.

"Good morning, Ash," he said. "I'm doctor Goldblum."

"Thanks for taking care of me, doc," Ash said.

"No problem," Dr. Goldblum said. "I do it every day. Though, I must say, it was quite strange. Whoever called us certainly wasn't you. Their voice was very strange, and they never did tell us your name. Also, the exact same person called for three others. This whole things is strange, actually. The other three people were in some sort of underground bathroom, all stuck in these strange devices.

"But whoever made those calls saved all of your lives. All four of you surely would have died if we hadn't gotten there in time. And even though we did, you all suffered from some serious blood loss."

"I must ask, though, Ash, do you know who is responsible for all this?"

Ash remained smiling this whole time. "Not a clue."

"Hmm," the Dr. Goldblum said. "This is all very peculiar. Well, anyway, I just wanted to see if you are awake. I'll tell somebody to bring your some breakfast straight away."

Dr. Goldblum walked off. Ash and Misty looked at each other again.

"He's right," she said. "This _is _weird. Do you think it has anything to do with the dead flowers or the Happy Killer?"

Ash grinned. "Misty, Happy is your secret admirer."

"He is?" Misty said. Ash nodded. "Why did you call him 'Happy'?"

"Because," Ash said, "he's not a killer."

Misty frowned. "Okay, now I'm confused."

"Ash Ketchum?" said a UPS man who had appeared in the doorway.

"Yeah?" Ash asked.

"Delivery," the man said. He placed a box on Ash's lap. "You won't have to sign," he said, "I can see you would have problems with that." He walked off.

"Can you open it for me?" Ash said. Misty opened up the package.

"No return address," she said as she opened it. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Misty took out a black laptop from the package.

"Okay, this is weird," she said. Ash ignored her. He knocked the box off the bed and opened the laptop. A window appeared showing live footage from a webcam. Misty screamed and jumped back. Ash, however, just smiled.

"Congratulations, Ash," said Billy. "You won the game."

"But-" Misty said, "that's-how-?"

"Hello, Misty," Billy said. "Good to see you two are finally a couple."

Misty stared at Ash, who was still smiling. "He-you-he was watching!?!"

"No," Billy said, "I just guessed that after all this you two would have confessed your feelings by now."

"What do you want?" Ash asked, though not in a demanding voice.

"Nothing," Billy said. "I merely want to congratulate you. You've won. The final phase of the game was a test, Ash, and you passed."

"I don't get it, though," Ash said. "Why did you put Team Rocket in those traps and not Misty?"

"Saving those you love is easy, Ash," Billy said. "Saving your enemies is a much harder task. By chopping off your hand, foot, and ear, you proved that you do appreciate what you have now. I just wanted to congratulate you…and say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Ash said.

"The game is over, Ash," Billy said. "My work here is complete. You know what you have now. It's time for me to move on to someone else. In fact, I've already thought of a good target."

"Who?" Ash said.

"That is on a need-to-know basis, and you don't. Now, goodbye, Ash."

"Okay," Ash said, "And Billy…"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Billy stayed there for a few seconds, and then the window closed. Ash looked at Misty, who was staring at him in disbelief.

"Well," he said, "looks like I get a free Macbook."

Misty stared. "What the fuck was that!?!" She yelled. "Just a couple days ago you wanted this guy dead, and now you're thanking him!?! What is _wrong _with you!?! That son of a bitch killed tons of people, and you're _thanking _him!?!"

"Misty!" Ash said. Misty stopped. Then he said just one thing. Three words. And even though they were small, they said a lot, and they made Misty realize exactly why Ash had thanked Billy.

"He helped me."

Misty smiled. "Whatever. I still love you."

Ash smiled. "I love you too."  
____________________________________________________

It was almost a week before Ash was let out of the hospital. He was still getting used to crutches, so he was a bit clumsy, but he could use them alright. On his way out he stopped by a large room that had three different people in it. They all looked up when he came in.

"Hey," Ash said, smiling at them all.

"Hey," said Jessie.

"Billy told us everything," meowth said.

"Yeah," said James. "I still can't believe you would do that for us."

"No problem," Ash said. "Life just wouldn't be the same without you."

They all smiled. "Listen, Twerp," James said. "I know Jessie's been a real bitch-"

"Hey, shut up!" Jessie said. "You both had a choice in the matter!"

"Okay, fine! We've _all _been real bitches. But, what I'm trying to say is…"

"We're done being the bad guys," meowth said. "The minute we get out of here, we're quitting Team Rocket."

"Yeah," Jessie said. "We were never cut out for the job anyway."

"What are you guys gonna do now?" Misty asked.

"I dunno," James said. "Meowth suggested opening up a restaurant…"

"Sounds good to me," Ash said. "Well, I've gotta go. We'll see you guys later then."

"See ya," Jessie said, and Ash walked away. Misty began to follow.

"Hey, female twerp!" Meowth yelled. Misty turned back to them.

"Yeah?"

"Your boyfriend's a great kid. Take care of him, will ya?"

Misty smiled. "Of course."  
____________________________________________________

The funerals of Ash's mother, Professor Oak, Tracey, all the pokémon, and Brock were all held on the same day, in the same place. Ash and Misty both cried at the funeral. A lot. But deep down, Ash knew that it was all for the best. Thanks to Happy, he now had a whole new view of life. A better one. In a way, he was glad that he had killed all these people. He was happier now. More joyful. He knew what he had.

_Green Day-Wake me up When September Ends_

_Tune and Rhythm: .com/watch?v=3tHRSw38OtQ_

_Lyrics_

_Summer has come and passed  
The innocent can never last  
wake me up when September ends_

like my fathers come to pass  
seven years has gone so fast  
wake me up when September ends

here comes the rain again  
falling from the stars  
drenched in my pain again  
becoming who we are

as my memory rests  
but never forgets what I lost  
wake me up when September ends

summer has come and passed  
the innocent can never last  
wake me up when September ends

ring out the bells again  
like we did when spring began  
wake me up when September ends

here comes the rain again  
falling from the stars  
drenched in my pain again  
becoming who we are

as my memory rests  
but never forgets what I lost  
wake me up when September ends

Summer has come and passed  
The innocent can never last  
wake me up when September ends

like my father's come to pass  
twenty years has gone so fast  
wake me up when September ends  
wake me up when September ends  
wake me up when September ends  
____________________________________________________

A week later, Ash was traveling in Sinnoh again. Dawn was with him still, but Brock was not. There was a strange sort of emptiness with Brock gone. It was not pleasant or unpleasant. It was just sort of…odd.

Then, one day, Ash saw Paul. He wasn't his usual self, though. He didn't look grouchy and mean. Now he just looked…sad. It was the only emotion Ash had never seen in Paul. Sadness.

"Paul?" Ash said.

"Oh," Paul said. "Hey, Ash." He wasn't acting as if Ash was an annoying disease as he usually did.

"What's up?" Ash asked.

"My brother," Paul said.

"What about him?"

"He's dead."

Ash stared and he heard Dawn gasp beside him.

"Oh my God…" Dawn said.

"How?" said Ash.

"Burned alive," said Paul.

"How do you know?"

"I just got his ashes in the mail," Paul said.

"Any return address?" Dawn asked.

Paul shook his head. "The only lead Officer Jenny has is a smiley face sticker that was on the box."

Ash couldn't help it. He grinned.  
____________________________________________________

And that's the end! I hope you guys like it! I don't know why I'm posting this the same day that I posted the sixth chapter, but I am! Anyway, I hope you guys liked it! Now maybe I'll actually get some work done on True Love and ELI. I've still got writer's block on both, though…


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